Dave James

In the history of major league baseball, no one has ever debuted with a no walk 14 strike out performance. Does anyone know why ESPN couldn't get this game on national TV? Seems like a natural.

The first thing you need to do is figure out what you have. If your vinyl is all Time-Life "Giants of Jazz" or its equivalent, that's one thing. If you've got mint condition '50's and '60's Blue Notes, that something else altogether. Some of those are worth a lot of money. I'd use eBay to get your arms around the value of your collection and go from there. If you do wind up working with a dealer, it will help if you've done your homework.

A 12 to 6 yacker to boot. His fastball topped out at 99MPH and his curve is in the high 70's to low '80's. Unhittable stuff. I know the Pirates aren't much better than a good Triple A team, but Strasberg is making them look like they're in the Arizona instructional league.

Well this isn't what I'd call cheap. I drilled down a little further and found that the least expensive cabin can be had for $1,750. The most expensive is $7,500. There's also air fare to consider and a $300 fee that apparently pre-pays your gratuities. Not sure what the freight is for niceties like the preferential dining arrangements. Apparently, these things do sell out fairly quickly. According to the website, this current cruise is already 75% booked. The good news is the same outfit also does smooth jazz cruises. They actually pay you to go on these.

I don't think the post should have been deleted without consulting the other moderators, but I agree that the Offering & Looking For forum is not the place to discuss pricing.

Portland, Oregon here. The weather? Awful. The worst Spring I can remember. We've had more rain (2.61") in the first six days of June than we normally get in the whole month (1.59").

Mark Texiera struck out five times yesterday and he's 0-3 so far today. Either other teams have figured out how to neutralize him or he's mired in the queen mother of all batting slumps. I just wonder how long the Yanks can afford to leave such an unproductive hitter in the three hole. The woeful Yankees are about to drop another to the Jays. Javier Vazquez had a no-hitter going through five and then hung a curve to Vernon Wells with a runner on first. Presto, it's 2-0 and with the failure of the Yankee bats to put in an appearance again today, it looks like they're about to get swept. They next face Baltimore (losers of 10 in a row) and then the hapless Houston Astros in the second round of interleague play, so I suppose they'll get healthy again win-wise, but it still doesn't make their inability to win against top competition any less of a problem.

Does this mean they don't count towards the 1,000,000th post?

Another game against a good team? Another loss for the Yankees. Another quality start from Andy Pettitte? Another wasted effort. Someone in that organization had better start asking some hard questions as to why these guys can't compete with anyone playing better than .500 ball. If the Yankees weren't able to fatten up on the likes of the Orioles and Indians, they would be in a world of hurt.

I think at this point we're looking at a seven game series. If it goes the distance, given that the last game will be played in Chicago, I still like their chances. A couple of other comments. I don't think I've ever seen as many fluky, deflection type goals as I've seen in the first four game of this series. This game is so fast that, as a goalie, you can only make one move and that's to where the shot was originally headed. If it hits a player or a stick, outside of luck, you've got no chance. Also, where the hell was this version of Ville Leino when he was wearing the winged wheel?

As much as I'm turned off by the expression, the Joyce/Gallaraga incident is turning out to be a teachable moment on a number of different levels.

I bought my first player in 1990 or 1991. It was a single disc Sony. The first CD I bought was the Quartets OJC by Stan Getz and, the second, Lyle Lovett & His Large Band. I still have the Getz. The Lovett is long gone. Once I started buying CD's, the flood gates didn't just open, they were blown right off their moorings. No hesitation here. I have no idea how many CD's I have now. Between the box sets and all the singles, I'd guess in the neighborhood of 3,500. While I've scaled back my purchasing frequency over the last couple of years, I'm still spending way too much on music. When I think back on all the ramifications, I have to agree with what Lon said, that choosing something else to obsess over might have been a good idea. Unfortunately, once you're hooked, you're really hooked. Has anyone ever been able to successfully kick this habit?

As much as I hate to say it, I agree with Dan. If Selig overturns this call, he's going to open up Pandora's Box. Not a good idea.

Did you read the comments at the end of the article? One guy says "I'd make a deposit."

I know the blown call is the hot topic tonight, but I can't believe no one has mentioned that The Kid hung up the spikes today for good. I'm not sure he's getting out for the right reasons, i.e. he still thinks he can play and contribute, but you have to give him credit for realizing that he'd become a distraction more than a ballplayer. I'm no fan of the M's, but in his best years, Griffey made that team worth watching. He was as naturally gifted a player as I've ever seen. At his best, he made the most difficult of games look easy. Without him, Seattle might no longer have a baseball team and even it they did, they would not be playing their games at Safeco Field. It's impossible to overestimate the effect Griffey has had on that city.

From the air, this looks like a bottomless pit. Sounds like a perfect place to throw all those 10-watt bulbs masquerading as the management of British Petroleum.

Can you vote for both? I'm really not sure I have a preference. I love the slow stuff, but when he really gets into a swinger, it absolutely pops. Dig out your copy of Sinatra At The Sands with the Count Basie Orchestra from 1966 and listen to I've Got You Under My Skin. He's working with a great Quincy Jones arrangement for sure, but, man, he just nails the vocal.

I could see Cashman making a move for Papelbon, but no way for Papi. This would be his last contract, so you have to figure the money/duration he'd want if he does go 35 and 120 would be ridiculous. Besides, hitting isn't what the Yankees need and even if they did, they would want to get younger. What they need are arms in the pen.

I have my doubts about #3. If that was real, the guy would've been knocked on his ass by the jet wash.

I'm just going to cut to the chase, and this is strictly my opinion. The flute sounds wimpy. Not fife or piccolo wimpy but wimpy nonetheless.

5-5 at the end of the second period? WTF?

El perfecto for Roy Halladay. Zeros across the board. WOW!

Dan, I'll trade you straight across right here, right now. At least there's some question about Bard's eventual upside. There is no more question about Chamerlain's. While today's loss officially belongs to him, he was aided and abetted by his two partners in mediocrity, Mssrs. Robertson and Mitre who combined to surrender three runs in one third of an inning, thereby setting the stage for the Chamberlain meltdown. If this debacle doesn't sound the klaxons in the Yankee front office, then I'm not sure what would. I hope the first thing they do is run to the executive washroom and look at themselves in the mirror. They flat out ruined Chamberlain. If they'd just stayed with him as a set up guy, he would have be fine and they'd probably have Rivera's replacement in house. Instead, they mess with his head to the point of rendering him useless. How is it that I saw this coming all along and the best and the brightest (to clarify, that's the New York front office) didn't? It's beyond me. And it's disgusting.

All signs point to yes.

I thought the RVG remaster of Horace Silver's Song For My Father really sucked, It pissed me off that I'd already traded in the original thinking that the new one would be, so to speak, a sound investment. Another lesson learned. When you go to throw it out, don't mistake the bath water for the baby.